|
How a polyethylene kayak is made |
|
Videos -
Around the web
|
|
Thursday, 31 January 2008 |
In case you were wonderingAKFF member Xtian stumbled upon this informative Youtube clip (that is actually a splice from some show on the Discovery channel) that describes the basic process in which polyethylene (or plastic if we want to save ourselves a few syllables) kayaks are constructed. I imagine there are some subtle differences from various companies (for example, I know that Hobie uses a special process to ensure certain parts of the kayak are thicker where required) but this does provide a pretty good rundown of how a kayak is formed from a bunch of powdered plastic. Click the 'read more' link to watch the clip.  Be first to comment this article | E-mail | Read more...
|
|
|
Trip reports -
NSW
|
|
Monday, 28 January 2008 |
Squidgy Stealth prawns are the real deal  Squidgy Stealth Prawn - Basin flathead cannot resist these
I decided not to hang around Spot X too much today, figuring that if I do so too often I'll decimate the patch single handed, which is after all, really quite small. Instead I did a couple of laps of Smith's Lagoon, casting lures toward the banks from about 15 meters out. I spent at least an hour longer on the water than the previous day and although results were similar, the catch rate wasn't quite as high. That said, I did manage to reel in about 12 Flathead and lost a couple at the side of the kayak. 3 of them were worth keeping (the smallest 36cm, the largest 39), so they joined the other tails that I've stored in the freezer. I won't be visiting any butchers in a hurry.
Once again it was a single Squidgy Stealth prawn that did all of the damage. In fact, it was the very same one (pictured above) that caught at least 15 fish the day before. And I'm really quite amazed to admit that it's still in a fishable condition. I did have to trim the trace three times over the course of the past 2 days, but haven't yet had to replace the lure. I'm really impressed with this. I wouldn't have believed it if someone told me, thats for sure.
I took out 2 rods today, one with a 2" Stealth prawn, another with a 4" version. Not a touch on the larger (and new) lure, but lots of takers on the smaller one. This did surprise me, because the prawns I've cut out of fish bellies recently are more like the size of the larger lure. That said, the larger one is a murky green colour, so perhaps the fish are responding to the black and gold combo. Indeed, Flathead seem to love this colour even with other lures.Be first to comment this article | E-mail | Read more... |
|
|
Trip reports -
NSW
|
|
Monday, 28 January 2008 |
I love Squidgy Stealth prawns... because Flathead love them to My original plan for yesterday was to head out into Jervis Bay, either at Plantation Point (chasing Salmon) or to Longnose Point (chasing Kingies) but when I thought about lifting the Adventure onto the roof racks I remembered that my recently re-injured shoulder is still in the healing stages and figured that it might be smarter to give it another week or so. Of course, I wasn't going to let that stop me from going fishing, so I simply wheeled the kayak down to the Basin and paddled out towards Spot X.
I only took out one rod this day, the newest addition to the my collection of Nitros, the 'Distance Spin'. I also only took out one style of lure, being the Squidgy Stealth prawn. Although I'd never used it before I was supremely confident it would produce the goods. If a Gulp shrimp could fool a fish into thinking it's a prawn, surely the more realistic looking Stealth prawn could as well. It only took a couple of casts into Spot X to realise that my confidence was well-founded. I've talked up my secret little Spot X recently but today was my most productive day by a long shot. I think I can attribute that to that handy little plastic prawn, which attracted a bite with almost every cast. I also managed to land more fish than I lost this time, though I'll attribute that to luck.
In a two hour session I lost count of how many fish I'd boated at around 15 or so, and a few more came in after that. Two more fish - both of them keeper sized - spat the hook while being introduced to the Environet. Most of these fish were returned and four were kept. The smallest of the keepers measured 35cm, the largest 41. No real monsters among them, but I know they are out there so I'm going to keep trying.
 Feed 'o Flathead
The big surprise of the day wasn't so much the effectiveness of the Stealth prawn, but more so it's durability. I've been noticing that many of the newer Squidgy lures are made of a much tougher plastic than most other SP lures and this was proven beyond any doubt to me today. One little 2" lure accounted for over 15 fish and it still looks in good shape. So much so that I'll be using the same little number later today. The big dissapointment of the day was forgetting to check the batteries in my camera. I found out that it needed replacing when I tried to snap off a shot of the first fish I caught. This was a real shame, because a brilliant sunset marked the end of another day and was well worth taking a photo of. As such, the only photo I managed to get of today's catch was the one pictured above, which was taken on my kitchen sink upon returning.Be first to comment this article | E-mail | Read more... |
|
|
Adventuring to Sail power |
|
News -
Latest News
|
|
Saturday, 26 January 2008 |
Woah back there gal! Sailing the Hobie Adventure
As a part of my initial preparation efforts for my planned Bass straight kayak crossing, I had deliberated between employing my trusty Adventure kayak, or otherwise upgrading it to a complete Island package. I have had a brief play with an Island and my experience told me that yes, this trimaran styled kayak would be a good choice. But a little devil on my shoulder has been whispering things like 'it's more of a sailing vessel than it is a kayak... it's fast, yes. Its stable, yes. But the argument could be made that it sits on the borderline of being described as a kayak'. So of course, fitting the Adventure with a standard sail has been the other alternative darting around my busy little mind. Up until today, however, I hadn't yet tried out the standard sail on a Hobie kayak.
That all changed this afternoon, because I borrowed a demo sail from the factory for the long weekend and today I gave it a brief test in the Basin. Well I'll be dipped in sheet... colour me impressed! Man, that was fun. I was expecting it to add a few extra clicks to my cruising speed but I wasn't prepared for the speeds it actually facilitated. Even in moderate 10 knot winds (and reasonably calm waters), a fully unfurled sail afforded me so much speed that pedalling was almost an afterthought. Assisted with even just moderate (ST fin) pedal power, I was able to achieve speeds of around 12km an hour with ease... and that was without even trying. I think this experience has helped me make a final decision on how to travel. At this point I'm thinking the standard Adventure with a standard sail is all I really need. I only want the sail for assistance, after all... not to actually do all the work for me.
 This is the rig that'll get me to Tassie
Despite my complete newby status when it comes to sailing, I was able to keep the kayak upright the entire time, although there were moments that I would have tipped over had I not shifted my weight or quickly unfurled the fully erect sail. I was pretty confident the whole time really, but now having seen how close it can get, I'm now hoping to test out this arrangement with Sidekick outriggers attached. The added stability afforded by these could very well be rather useful in waters like Bass straight. My next test will be in Jervis bay and after that, off shore beyond the bay. I'm really looking forward to that but it'll have to wait a few days because I'll be spending the next couple of days fishing in the bay, not sailing it.Be first to comment this article | E-mail | Read more... |
|
|
New Nitro 'Distance Spin' joins the Yakabout rod collection |
|
News -
Latest News
|
|
Saturday, 26 January 2008 |
Prepare to be insanely jealous
I walked into a tackle shop in Nowra today with intention to pick up three things: one of those 'X-Tool' gaff hooks that Coolbreeze mentioned to me recently, a bait fish trap and a packet of Squidgy stealth prawns which I reckon will out fish the Gulp shrimp lures here in the prawn infested Basin. Just out of curiosity I asked the salesperson if they stocked Nitro rods and he said: 'not usually, but we do have one in stock'. I asked him to show me. It was a lone 'Distance Spin' model, which just so happens to fit in nicely between the Ulra bream finesse and heavier Viper rod.
'How much?' I inquired.
'Well, we ordered it for someone who never picked it up, so... I dunno... $170?'
'$170? You sure?'
'Err... yeah.'
'Done. Wrap it up!'
I knew full well that these rods typically retail for about $100 more than that and given that I really do have a specific use for it (and a reel to match) I just couldn't pass it up. Regular readers here would already know how much I admire the Innovator Nitro fishing rods, so even though I really couldn't afford it - even at that price - it was too good a bargain to let go.
This brings my happy little family of Nitro rods up to 4 and covers my varying fishing needs perfectly. The Nitro Godzilla really is my mandatory off-shore rod, put to use every time I head out chasing fish like Tuna, Kingies and the like. The Viper also accompanies me on each off shore trip and handles the same sort of species nicely. Heavier lures go on the Godzilla, lighter models on the Viper. Both rods are heavier than I need for the Basin, but I have been taking out the Viper on the odd occasion. The reason for this is that whilst I'm finessing with the Ultra bream rod for bream and flathead (using 4lb line plus 8lb fluorocarbon) I've often had the Viper there to cast towards Tailor that I see busting the surface (using 10lb line, with heavier trace). And it does the job quite well, but I've always thought a lighter rod would do it better. The 'Distance Spin' fits the job description to a T.
 A thing of beauty
It's heavy enough to handle the kind of lures that I'm casting at those Tailor and will handle 6lb braid (which i've had tucked away for a while now) beautifully. Fortunately, the Distance Spin is also solid enough to accompany me for excursions around the beaches of Jervis Bay, where I'll be trolling for Aussie Salmon and Tailor (right next to the Viper). So with this new Nitro added to the collection, I've got just about every possible scenario I can think of covered. Below is an exerpt from the Nitro website that describes the Distance Spin:
The most exciting rod to hit the Australian market in quite some time. In the prototyping stage this rod found it’s way to the bream rivers on the far south coast of NSW right to the flats of Bynoe Harbour in the North. Along the way it accounted for Bream, Flathead, Salmon, Tailor, Kingfish, Striped Tuna, Mack Tuna, Longtail Tuna, Barra, Fingermark Bream and small GT’s and Queenfish. As the name suggests this rod is the Distance caster, aided by the high modulus graphite and extra length the Distance Spin will cast Small metal lures like no other rod before it. The length of this rod also makes it the rod of choice when soft plastic stick baits are used and imparting an action to your lure is paramount to success. It’s also handy when that once in a lifetime fish bolts under the boat in that last dash for freedom – extra length means more reach around motors, anchor ropes and keels.Comments (4) | E-mail | Read more... |
|
|
Smith's Lagoon & Wandandian creek |
|
Trip reports -
NSW
|
|
Friday, 25 January 2008 |
Stay on the hook, dammit!Much like the night before, it was too good an evening to be sitting around not fishing, so I dragged my Adventure into the calm Basin waters again tonight, this time accompanied by my another Hobie staffer, Robert Long (also paddling an Adventure). As we trolled over towards Spot X I pointed towards another spot that I said was usually good for at least a quick Flathead and we made our way their first for a quick cast. Right on cue I hooked up to a reasonable sized dusky, which I reckon would have measured about 40cm had I been able to land the damned thing. Much like so many other fish I'd hooked recently, this one spat the hook right at the side of the boat. Much to his amusement, this was a sight Rob got to see happen to me several times throughout the course of this trip.
 Gotcha!
After a expelling few frustrated expletives we moved on to my next 'hot spot' and informed Rob that this is where I'd hooked on to a nice flatty the night before. I was determined to try for the same fish again and surprising even myself, I think I may very well have achieved that. It fought much like the fish I'd lost the previous night, hooked at exactly the same place using exactly the same lure (Gulp minnow). This time I didn't lose it, however, safely guiding it into the Environet. I'd guessed it might have been about 50cm the night before, but if it is the same fish, I was being a little optimistic. Instead it measured up at 44cm, which is actually a better eating size anyway I think.
With that score settled, it was time to move on to spot X, where I was sure more fish would come. I'd promised Rob this spot would fire and I was proven right with my very first cast, which was followed with bites almost all the way back to the yak. Rob didn't stick around here long, instead opting to go back to where my last catch came in, so I hung around for a while and pulled in 4 flatties and 2 bream. Not a single one of them was of legal size, however, so all of them were gently and swiftly returned to the water. The action here lasted about 30 minutes before dropping off somewhat, so I decided to try my luck for a Tailor. There were a few reasonable sized looking specimens leaping into the air, but trolling at high speed in their vicinity failed to raise a bite. I made my way back to Robs position, cast another lure and dropped yet another keeper sized flatty at the side of the yak. Robbie was laughing his guts out at this and by now I was seeing the funny side in it to.
 Robbie Long, Hobie factory muscle
With the sun due to expire soon we decided to go for a leisurely paddle in Wandandian creek, both of us trolling lures the entire time. I only had a few light touches but Rob did get one good hard strike, which judging from the look of what remained of his lure (not much) would have been a chopper tailor. Gulp plastic prawns were clearly the gun bait of the day (as the night before) which is not at all surprising considering that prawns are what I found in the stomachs of the previous nights catch.
This long weekend I'm planning to do some exploring in Jervis Bay, possibly off Plantation Point, off-shore perhaps or maybe both. I've got enough flathead in the fridge as it is, so I'll probably give the Basin a break for a few days. Be first to comment this article | E-mail | Read more... |
|
|
Josh's Blog -
View from the Basin
|
|
Friday, 25 January 2008 |
|
When I met Greg Fenech at Burrum heads, it didn't take me long to ping him as a wise guy with a good sense of humor. I was reminded of that again when he sent me this piece on the 'retrosexual'. Another reminder appeared from him in my inbox today. They say a picture says a thousand words. So how does one quantify a picture with lots of words on it, such as this one?  Wise words indeed ;-) Be first to comment this article | E-mail | Read more... |
|
|
News -
Latest News
|
|
Thursday, 24 January 2008 |
|
I've been procrastinating on doing some long overdue updates to the site recently, partly because I have been trying to figure out how to adjust the content and layout to better fit my new circumstances. Thankfully I've finally worked most of that out, so there will be some more noticible changes over the next few days. This will include updating the gallery completely, which will mean cleaning out a lot of the not so glorious photos and speeding up the load time of those pages, as well as adjusting the catagories somewhat. I'm also going to tweak the Yakabout map, replacing the destination markers with trip report markers (because I'm no longer writing destination reports). This will see the Yakabout map repopulate with far more markers than it currently has, and will provide another means of navigating to specific trip reports. The FAQ section will get an update and I've started the ball rolling tonight by re-writing the 'about' section, so it now reflects my current situation and future plans. Finally, I'm also going to set up a slide show for the front page, although I'm yet to find a software package that it both inexpensive and suitable for my needs. That one could take a couple of weeks. Be first to comment this article | E-mail | Read more... |
|
|
Trip reports -
NSW
|
|
Thursday, 24 January 2008 |
I spy with my little Lanai...
It was too nice an evening to not go kayak fishing tonight and I wasn't the only one thinking that. When I paddled my way over to nearby (to home) Smith's Lagoon I found Steve Fields (managing director of Hobiecat Australasia) and his wife paddling around and casting at surfacing fish. Steve was working an Outback, Sue a Sport and there I was in the humble, yet rather capable Lanai. Steve and I stuck close by for a short while and I watched him pull in a small bream and I followed this with a keeper Flathead of around 35cm soon after. They took off in another direction before long, but I decided to hang around for a bit to do some more exploring. I was encouraged by a great bite, which (although I didn't see it) I am pretty sure was a large Flatty that felt like it would have gone at least 50cm. I fought this fish for about 30 seconds before it let go and it managed to peel some line from the reel, which is rare for most of the fish I've hooked here.
I'm really very glad I did keep fishing because although I was unable to attract the attention of the same fish again, I continued to explore and in doing so, found a great little spot. I'm usually pretty open about exactly where I happen to catch fish but this is going to be one of those rare occasions where (for now) I'm going to keep one relatively secret. Because tonight I found a really productive little patch that produced a bite on almost every cast. it's pretty close to my home as well, so I'd really like it to stay that way. I spotted the area from about 200 meters away after seeing what I was sure to be a Tailor leap into the air. This particular chopper was clearly much bigger than what I have become use to seeing in the Basin, so I paddled over to investigate. I saw a few more leaps, all of them from promising sized fish. When I came close to the spot I cast in a small Gulp prawn and was rewarded with a hook up immediately.
Ironically, it wasn't the Tailor I was hoping for. Rather, it was a small Flathead that was instantly returned. Second cast hooked another, slightly larger Flatty (it to was also put back). The third cast produced several bites, but no hook up. Forth cast, another few bites. Next cast also resulted in a fish. And so it continued like this for the next 10 - 15 minutes or so, catching at least 10 fish in the process. I put them all back, however, because I felt confident one of them would be worth holding on to. Eventually I did get another big bite (not quite as large as the earlier one) and it to managed to spit the hook (the Flathead at the Basin seem to be very skilled at doing this - I've lost more keepers than I have boated). usually I'm good humored about such occurances but it pissed me off this time, so with the sun sinking over the treetops I shook my fist in anger and vowed to return. Before doing so, however, I threw on a 3" minnow - intended for one of those Tailor) and paddled away at high speed.
I did hook up on a Tailor on the way out, but it was also well undersized. As I neared my landing destination my pace slowed somewhat (my shoulders were feeling the pinch) and moments after my pace slowed I felt another hook up. Another hungry Flathead again, which had swallowed the lure whole. I did a pretty poor job of removing the hook this time and didn't like its chances of survival, so even though it was barely legal (perhaps even slightly under - I didn't check) I kept it for the pan.
I did get a couple of photos but they both turned out pretty horrible, so rather than waste your bandwidth and mine, I won't bother uploading them. I'm heading out again tomorrow night with one of the guys from work, so I'll make up for it then. We weren't too sure about where we'd go fishing, but now I know where we are going for sure. Spot X I tells ya! Comments (2) | E-mail | Read more... |
|
|
Main lines for kayak fishing - colour is everything |
|
Articles -
Tackle
|
|
Tuesday, 22 January 2008 |
Visibility is the key It sure did take me a while to figure it out, but when it comes to kayak fishing (any fishing almost for that matter) line colour really is a big deal. But no, I'm not talking about if said colour may act as an attractant or deterent to the fish. Like most of us, I pretty much always use a reasonably long fluorocarbon leader and as such, the visibility of the main line is rarely seen by the fish anyway. What I have found to be important - for a couple of reasons - is the visibility of the main line to the human eye. The first of these reasons is the visibility to the person using it... especially when it comes to using a lighter line.
Several species of fish are renowned for taking a lure moments after it hits the water as it is slowly sinking to the bottom. During this time there is usually a lot of slack line and unless you can see it pretty clearly, chances are high you won't detect any bites until the line is taught. But by the time you've managed to take in the slack line there's every chance the fish has realised that the funny looking fish-like thing isn't actually what it thought it was, and has spat it out. Bream and Pinkies (or Squire, whatever you want to call juvenile snapper) are strong candidates for this. A lot of pro fishermen will tell you that a great many fish are lost this way and since I've adopted highly visible lines I've started to agree. I've found that when your main line is clearly visible, if there is a tell-tale jerk I am able to detect it and strike immediately.
The other reason I've become a big fan of highly visible lines is that it's much easier for other people to see it as well, and if you're trolling, this can be particularly valuable when others are on the water near you. This is especially true when power-boaters are coming towards you from the side and are planning to pass you on the rear. If they can't see your line, they might not figure out that you're trolling a lure and could very well power right over your line. This has happened to me several times in the past, but not once since adopting easily sighted lines. Of course, this is also of use when kayak fishing near your fellow comrades. Too many times I have inadvertantly paddled over a mates line (usually when I'm moving in to take a photo of them with their landed quarry) and this often results in tangles that otherwise wouldn't have happened.
I've experimented with a few line colours now and so far I've found that the best is the yellow (almost fluorescent in appearance) colours. The photo below doesn't really do the colour justice, because the end of it has faded somewhat. Underneath those initial wraps, it's much brighter and this part is exposed when cast. I've also found pink to be a fairly visible colour as well, but not quite as eye-catching as yellow. My most recent main line colour experiment has been with a bright orange line (pictured below on the Shimano reel) and it's not bad. If the sun catches it, it's actually pretty darn good, but no where near as visible as the yellow under a cover of clouds. Although the orange is better than most colours I have tried, I think I'll stick with fluro yellow from now on.
 My most prized reels on my most prized rods, all spooled with highly visible braid main lines Comments (2) | E-mail | Read more... |
|
|
Smith's Lagoon, The Basin |
|
Trip reports -
NSW
|
|
Sunday, 20 January 2008 |
Big fish heaven Sunset over Smiths lagoon
The more I've been, the more I'm coming to find the most prolific numbers of fish in my area in Smith's Lagoon, which harbours an infestation of the noxious weed, Caulerpa. It's really very shallow here and these two factors combined have made it unattractive for power boaters. The Caulerpa factor has also quarantined it as a no-anchor zone. Fortunately, that's not enough to stop a determined kayaker... even one who does indeed want to come to a dead stop. Because it is so shallow, an anchor isn't actually required. A stake-out pole, I've found, is just as good, if not better.
 The Hobie Stake Out pole is pretty handy in the shallows - especially in a no-anchor zone
There really is a hell of a lot of fish around here - Flathead, Bream, Tailor, Whiting and Sting Rays. All that and a hell of a lot of bait fish. For sure, many of the Tailor and Whiting would also qualify as 'bait-fish' by definition due to their size. And that's why I call this place Big fish heaven. Any hungry fish of a respectable size is absolutely guaranteed to get a good feed here. Unfortunately, I'm yet to see many, other than a bunch of Sting rays and one rather large Snook. That doesn't mean they're not here though. In fact, I lost a big Flathead at the side of the kayak not far from here (70 - 75cm) just the other week, and I' m confident I'll find some here eventually. Not today though. All I managed to reel in this day was a bunch of small fish, all of which were way too small to keep (all Tailor). The Flathead pictured here is the biggest fish I caught, which took a lure whilst casting from my stake-out position. That's a 3" Gulp minnow hanging out of it's mouth, which gives you an idea of it's size. I didn't take photos of the others, favouring rather a hasty return to the water.
 Pint-sized Dusky, released to live another day
Today's trip was a real minimalist event, taking out just one rod (the Ultra Bream Nitro) and a handfull of suitable lures. Instead of taking out the Hobie Adventure, I took out the Lanai, which is a paddle only kayak. It's small, light, and was the perfect fit for my intentions today. I was fishing in only a foot of water for most of the day, and for some of that time in the very narrow mouth of Wandandian creek (where it meets up with Smith's Lagoon) so a nimble paddle-only kayak did the job nicely. The Lanai hasn't been designed for fishing as such, but I found it to be quite capable of doing so.Be first to comment this article | E-mail | Read more... |
|
|
